Cemented Fortune
by evilfuzzy67
Summary: Rating in case. Chapt. 3&4 are up. Another side of Azula's story. Pardon the ooc for a while, they will be evil. Age mess up, but not as relevant in the next chapters.
1. At The Beginning

Yo peeps...

This is my attempt at a story that has a stable plot point... see, I have this mental condition called "writer's block".

So, on to the story!

--

Chapter 1

_I wish that every child could complete their childhood, fulfilling their right completely. But hate has brought my charges into life as Fire Nation royalty... A fate no child should have to endure..._

_I am the young Prince Zuko, and Princess Azula's nurse, Botan, and my path in life is to serve those whose path is already chiseled into steel. _

_This is my story. Our story, as I have a special place in my heart for little Azula... _

_Maybe a fate chiseled in steel can be melted away with enough fire._

Siblings of any culture don't usually get along that well. But I knew, at the moment her mother presented her with a new baby brother, that Azula despised him. I don't know why that innocent baby, swaddled snugly in crimson silk, held no grudge or threat against the young princess. This is the curse of birthrights.

Baby Zuko was now the heir to the nation's throne... after Ozai, of course. Even though Azula was near being instated as a master Firebender, she was now the forgotten princess.

She watched from her window the fireworks and parades in honor of the new prince.

...then she set his portrait on her wall ablaze.

I was in the next room at the time when I heard her scream. I ran to her aid, and doused the fire with her washing water.

"Azula!" I shouted wildly, perhaps frighteningly...

The little girl sat by the door, her head in a pillow, sobbing.

"Oh Azula..." I sighed.

"Mother and Father will not want me anymore... will they?" she sobbed.

"Lady Ursa and Prince Ozai still love you, and no one will change that..."

I stopped, looked up from the tiny girl, out the window at the fireworks.

I stroked her head and sighed...

I knew I had just lied.

--

A/N

My first chapters are always short, the next ones will be longer...

If you haven't guessed, I am imposing a different story of Azula...

I will not put down Zuko in this story, because I love him too much.

If you're wondering, Botan means peony... don't ask.


	2. News

YAY! A new chappie!

Ok, please don't bash me for bad grammar and miss spelled (ha ha ha, no pun intended) words! I try...

Now, on to the story..

--

Chapter 2

_A few years after that incident, Azula had been over achieving in her studies, as well as her Firebending. People called her a prodigy. Younger children looked up to her. Zuko admired his big sister._

_Her younger sibling's lessons already consisted of martial arts, Firebending, and swordsmanship._

_I thought it was amazing that any children their age could meet any of the feats their father had set for them._

_Sibling rivalry seemed to halt... they loved each other... for a while..._

" ... Zule!" Zuko called.

Azula patiently stopped her studies and walked into the next room.

"Yes, Zuko?"

"Play?"

Azula sighed, "Sorry Zuzu, but I need to study... you don't want Daddy mad again, do you?"

Zuko sniffed. It was their free day... They weren't supposed to have to work now, but Azula would do anything to get her father's approval.

"I'm really sorry! I'll play with you tomorrow... maybe Botan can read to you."

"Promes you play?"

"Yes, Zuzu."

"Ok..."

I picked up Zuko, and we headed for the bookshelf. I sat him down on a cushion, and pulled Azula aside.

"Azula, your mother and father want to speak with you.. It sounded urgent.."

Azula's golden eyes grew large with fear. With a whimpered "Ok.." She left the room and hurried towards her parents' chambers.

I sat with Zuko and read his favorite stories over and over again. He never grew tired of them.

Finally, the young prince grew weary, and I laid him in his bed.

As I was about to fetch some dinner for myself, I heard quiet sobs coming from Azula's room. I went to investigate what was wrong.

Her cheeks were drenched in tears.

"Princess, what is upsetting you?"

She sniffed, and hugged me. I stroked her hair like I used to.

After a few minutes, I squeezed her tightly, and questioned her again.

She whimpered, but whispered softly, "Father doesn't want me anymore."

"What?"

"He's sending me away... to boarding school... a long ways away.."

A servant arrived at the door with a message from Lady Ursa, explaining her husband's decision.

I sighed, and helped Azula prepare.

--

Now's the tough part.. The story splits in two.

The story will get better... Bear with me...

PLEASE REVIEW!


	3. Leaving you

Woo-hoo! I'm on a roll!

For anyone that may have questions...

When I started writing this fic, I wasn't sure if Zuko or Azula was older.

I thought Zuko was, but I went on the part of the first episode of season 2, when Azula calls Zuko "little Zuzu". It may have been just to make him feel bad, maybe not. In "Zuko Alone" they looked about the same age, but for the sake of this story, Azula is about 3 years older...

Let's call it "poetic license"...

OKAY! I KNOW THIS ISN'T A POEM! you'll get over it...

--

Chapter 3

_The next day had to have been one of the saddest day of my life. Even though I had been ordered to accompany the young princess, I was leaving little Zuko, and my home for the past eight years..._

We left at dawn, before little Zuko had even awoken... I had allowed Azula to watch him for a moment, while I finished our last-minute packing... She cried, and I cried with her. Zuko would awake in a few hours, looking for his big sister "Zule'" to play with him... By the time she saw him again, he would be ten years old...

We left that morning. Ozai stood like a stone as Azula clung to her mother. When she finally released, she did something that surprised even I, who had been with her every moment since birth, like a big sister ... She pulled all the courage she had into her heart, ran to her statue of a father...

...and _hugged _him.

"Bye, Daddy..."

You can imagine his surprise... Her mother quickly shooed her away.

She clung to my skirts as we boarded the ominous black war ship for "protection"...

My greatest fear was that Earth Kingdom ships would attack... from what we knew, they were barbarians who attacked even innocents for mere sport... And we were traveling with the Fire Prince's daughter, worthy of a lord's ransom.

Azula and I turned to face the deck were they stood. I politely curtsied, and Azula waved, until I gently swatted her rump and she followed my lead.

Prince Ozai nodded his head, while her mother stifled a sob. We turned, and young Private Zhao led us to our chamber. The ship jerked as the engine went full blast. Through the window we watched as Ozai turned to leave, his wife ahead of him. He must have thought no one was watching, because before he took a step, he turned back...

...and gently blew a...

..._kiss._

A/N

Hi! This is YoungGrasshopper7, correcting the awful results of evilfuzzy's creativity. Please forgive her because she isn't as bright as she thinks.

Evilfuzzy: HEY!

(Note: as evilfuzzy was typing her remark, she actually spelled it as "heay". I am going to kill her.)

Evilfuzzy: MY FINGER SLIPPED.

Cut it out with the caps lock. It really messes up the page.

Evilfuzzy: FOR YOUR INFORMATION... I'M USING SHIFT!

-click click- ...wow, she was right for once. The other day, I walked into a trash can at the mall while trying to see my ear.

Evilfuzzy: ...-eye twitch-... -cricket cricket- ... Ok folks, on to the next chapter, and as always, If you are here, you might as well review... (hint hint)


	4. Story Time

This chapter is dedicated to "loaded" and "I love Zuko", my wonderful reviewers.

Ok, now I know that Zuko is 16, and Azula 15... so, of course, I was wrong again...

Just to let everyone know... in this story, I AM GOD. So now Azula is 8 and Zuko is 5. Now read and review or I shall smite you. (Hey, that rhymes. Being God has its perks.)

Oh, and in my previous chapters I forgot to mention that, like all of you, I am not the creator, owner, chairperson, CEO or anything related to _Avatar: The Last_ _Airbender._

But, because I am God, I can change that.

And for those of you that have an issue with the age thing... that will not be as relevant in the later chapters. As always, bear with my spelling and grammar!

--

Chapter 4

_Our journey lasted, to my estimation, about 5 days. Azula was sea-sick a great portion of the time, so we weren't on deck much. The captain said we didn't really miss much, though. The sky was overcast and the air became bleak and soggy. No sun._

_Our cabin was about 15 square feet, modest size. The decor was, as always, red and gold, with the nation's emblem embedded into the wall. There was one bunk bed, and a chest where our belongings were held._

_Private Zhao was our guide on the boat. He was perhaps my age, maybe a bit older. Handsome, and still unscarred by the insanity around him._

On the first day of our journey, Azula wanted to stay on deck as much as possible. She loved how we were the only solid she could see for leagues around us in all directions.

This feeling suddenly changed when the rocking motion contrary to the solid earth were she had spent most of her life was spent, was realized. Then we took below.

Zhao brought us our meals, and entertained us. He would tell us about his home by the shore. His father was a high ranking member of the military, who served beside Prince Iroh. His mother loved to entertain. She was good friends with the Fire Lady before she passed on.

He had always wanted to be in the military. When the war started, he hadn't needed to be drafted. He was first in line. Because of his father though, he had not taken part in the dirty work. He was instated as an escort.

Those nights were fun, and I was rather fond of him.

One night after he left, I was tucking Azula into bed.

"Botan?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Mr. Zhao is nice."

I smiled, "Yes, dear."

"Why isn't all of Daddy's soldiers nice like him?"

"_Aren't_, dear. Why _aren't_..."

"Botan!"

"Well..." I thought for a moment... "Private Zhao is relatively new to the service, and hasn't fully realized what his duties are..."

"What are they though, Botan?"

"Well..." I quickly changed the subject, "Azula, it's time for bed. Captain says we will be arriving at port tomorrow. You must be in a good mood to meet the headmistress."

"Botan.."

"Hush, Princess Azula." I turned off the lamp.

She sighed and, with her unanswered question, turned over and fell asleep.

I crawled into my bunk, and adjusted my pillows. I closed my eyes for a few moments. But I found I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk on deck.

I stepped into the warm night air. The ominous fog had lifted, and the brilliant stars showed through.

I took a deep breath and looked over the side. The ship flowed through the water with a brilliance that matched an Unagi. I sat on the railing and tried to fix a picture of that moment into my mind forever.

I felt something on my shoulder. I jerked around. In the darkness, there was a figure I couldn't make out... so I screamed loud enough to wake the dead and jumped about five feet in the air.

"Miss Botan? It's okay, it's only me!"

Zhao stood there with a slightly amused expression on his face.

After a few awkward moments, he started laughing.

"What?" I asked sharply.

He started laughing harder.

Now I was starting to get annoyed. I stood up and demanded, "What is so funny!"

He snorted and gasped, "You should have seen the look on your face!" ...and resumed laughing.

I stood shocked for a few moments, then snorted... and joined the laughter.

When we had calmed down, we talked for a while.

"So it was you who let the rhinos out?"

"Hey! It was a complete accident... I'm lucky Azulon didn't find out... I rather like my head."

I laughed, though I knew if he had been caught, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation right now.

He shrugged, "So what about you? What's your story?"

I had expected that question, but I didn't know were to begin... I sighed, and looked over the ocean...

Finally I whispered, "It's a long one..."

--

Okay guys, please don't hate me for the OOC... it will end, and they will be evil.

So... what to you think should be her story?

Writer's block...

Ok, so you hate me now, but I thought it would be cute to throw Zhao in there too.

Don't worry, the love will not last.

I KNOW HE'S DEAD! Get over it.

See that little blue button in the lower left-hand corner? It says GO. I am _willing_ you to press that button and enter a few logical words in the review box.

Remember, you are risking a smiting. But actually you'll be slapped around for a good five minutes and then released.

-author is smote by real God-

evil out


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